This blog is totally independent, unpaid and has only three major objectives.
The first is to inform readers of news and happenings in the e-Health domain, both here in Australia and world-wide.
The second is to provide commentary on e-Health in Australia and to foster improvement where I can.
The third is to encourage discussion of the matters raised in the blog so hopefully readers can get a balanced view of what is really happening and what successes are being achieved.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

The Cognitive Dissonance Coming from DoHA Just Got A Lot Worse. I Am Not Sure They Get It.

The following popped up earlier today.

GPs key to e-health success: Plibersek

by:Karen Dearne

From:Australian IT

March 22, 20125:30AM

HEALTH Minister Tanya Plibersek wants GPs to take a lead role in reforming healthcare through the adoption of e-health systems.

"E-health is an important area with great potential to improve the convenience and quality of care for patients," she told a conference for GPs in Canberra.

"It's also an area where the government is keen for GPs to take a lead role."

Ms Plibersek said the government would start to roll out the personally controlled e-health system from July this year.

"Over time, the system will join the dots electronically between GPs, pharmacists, specialists, allied health professionals, hospitals and patients," she said.

"GPs will spend more time delivering services and talking to patients, rather than chasing patient records."

Leading medical groups have been calling for government funding and support to assist the adoption of the PCEHR system, but the government has previously ruled out rebates to cover the cost of creating and maintaining records on behalf of patients.

In a joint statement this month, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, the Australian Medical Association, the Australian General Practice Network and three rural doctors' organisations, unanimously "expressed concern about the lack of preparation for practical implementation" before the July 1 start-date.

At the same time we have the Department of Health Secretary out and about wanting a measured uptake.

DoHA expects ‘measured’ PCEHR adoption rate

Posted Wed, 21/03/2012 - 23:18 by Mark Jones

The federal government’s incoming ehealth System Operator has revealed she is expecting consumers will not rush to sign up for personally controlled electronic health records, and has not set target rates for adoption.

Jane Halton, secretary at the Department of Health and Ageing and PCEHR System Operator from July 1, pending legislation, also said more than 1.4 million consumer identities were registered in the PCEHR system via the wave sites where the ehealth system is being trialled.

Speaking exclusively to eHealthspace.org ahead of her appearance at Health-e-Nation 2012, Ms Halton said: “I do not expect that the entire nation will opt in on 1 July, and actually we don’t want that.”

“What we actually want is for gradual adoption, to have a measured approach to the deployment of ehealth,” she said. However, DoHA will target certain groups for early adoption, such as people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent and people with chronic health conditions, Ms Halton said.

Sorry, I am really struggling with the mixed messages. As a commenter said this morning to a previous blog.

“Re the Security/Privacy stipulations for Practices - add this to the draconian OH&S regimen, all the other MBS and "business" stuff that has to be done, and when exactly do the staff and clinicians actually see patients and do what they trained for? Beggars belief that Government stands up and says they will reduce red tape, and they do this!”

Paul Fitzgerald.

Canberra want fast and slow, to reduce red tape and to add it, involve GPs and punish them and so it goes on all at the same time.

The old saying that someone could not ‘organise a beer fest in a brewery with a fist full of fivers’ seems highly applicable.

The Minister and Bureaucrats need to get out into the real world and stop just making GPs lives more difficult if they want help with such initiatives.

4 comments:

Anonymous
said...

I am sure don't get it and whats more the pride is at such a level that they keep piling on good money after bad.

It this flys it will go down in the IT literature as the project that worked despite doing everything wrong. Perhaps they should get Elvis to switch it on. If it works then they should be be capable of arranging that as well.

Plibersek needs someone to explain to her (and her speechwriters) exactly what the PCEHR delivers. Joining the dots is what the PCEHR will not do. That will be achieved by messaging. The PCEHR is a new big dot that will need to be joined to all the other dots. If this is the business case for the PCEHR then it is the wrong solution.

Jane Halton should also know better. "... from July 1, pending legislation, also said more than 1.4 million consumer identities were registered in the PCEHR system via the wave sites where the ehealth system is being trialled."

The wave sites are only able to sign up patients for the wave sites. We are repeatedly told that the consents signed by patients will need to be redone for them to access the PCEHR. Also, that no data collected prior to this can go into the PCEHR. Or should I say the PC-LES (largely empty system).